Help for Billy: A Beyond Consequences Approaching to Helping Challenging Children in the Classroom

by Heather T. Forbes

to do it on th...

There are several key transitional times that should be addressed for Billy. These include changing classrooms and subjects, cafeteria time, recess, field trips, before and after school, beginning of the school year, ending of the school year, holiday breaks, and graduation from high school. Providing strong structure, routine, and predictabi...

children like Billy, who view any transition as a threat, will typically struggle and act out negatively when making this transition.

Trauma keeps the brain in a simplified framework. Billy is not sophisticated enough to distinguish one transition as “good” and another as “bad.” Concrete thinking prevails: All transitions are bad.

Greet Each Student.

Whether it is the start of the morning or a return to the classroom, each time the student arrives back into the classroom, he should be greeted.

The message conveyed to the student is: “You are important and special

to

this class. Welcome back. You are in a safe and familiar place and I’m h...

Calling each student by name can also send the message that he is un...

part of the family classroom. “Good morning, Billy” is much more penetrati...

Prepare.

Prepare students ahead of time for the transition. Watch the clock and stop all work and instructions two minutes prior to the bell ringing.

Too

many times these final two minutes are jam-packed...

instructions and assignments that only serve to arouse Billy’s nervous system, setting him up for failure bef...

During these two ...

create an atmosphere...

Lower the lights. Lead the students in some deep breathing. Sing a song (for the elementary students). Play a soothing song (or part of a song) every time before the bell rings so it becomes a signal for the body to automatically relax. Remind the students verbally how important they are to you (no matter how the class behaved that day).

Provide Assistance.

Billy may feel safer in the back of the line because then he can see everybody, which minimizes the surprise factor of someone coming up behind him and hurting him. If it were a middle school or high school student, having Billy walk with

teacher to the next class through the crowded

and noisy hallway would be an ide...

Use Music and Songs.

A wonderful resource with an extensive listing of songs for every type of transition in a school is “Songs for Teaching: Using Music to Promote Learning” (www.songsforteaching.com/transitions.htm).

Cafeteria Time.

Sitting in a school cafeteria for twenty minutes with this type of noise will tax a child’s ability to regulate and integrate such an overload of sensory input,

Billy’s nervous system does not have this capability. Billy arrives back into the classroom and his system continues to be operating on “high,” as if he is still in the cafeteria. The solution is to help Billy adjust through supportive and proactive measures: The teacher eats with the

class during lunch and sits next to Billy to help regulate him. Though this is typically the teacher’s time to have down time,

many teachers prefer this option because it ensures an easier afternoon, so the investment of energy and loss of free time is well worth it. Before leaving the cafeteria, the teacher instructs the class to take two deep breaths together prior to returning to the classroom. In the lineup back to the classroom, Billy is at the front of the line with the teacher, or a teacher’s aide stands next to Billy. The aide or the teacher checks in with Billy with a quick “Hi Billy. We’re going back to the classroom now. How are you doing?” Leave the classroom lights on a dim setting so when the students walk into the class, the room provides a calming environment. The teacher instructs the students to take two more deep breaths and slowly turns up the lights when the stress level in the students appears to be returning to a normal level. If the cafeteria still proves too much for Billy, even with the above measures, give Billy an alternative place to eat lunch. Select...

Re...

They do not know what to expect, do not feel safe, and have most likely had negative playground experiences that keep them locked into a negative perception of this environment.

Ironically, though, it is most likely the child like Billy who absolutely needs recess to “blow off steam.”

Before recess, the teacher makes certain that Billy understands where the class is heading and on how they are going to get there. Billy, along with the entire class, is made aware of what is going to happen once the class returns from recess. Even if the routine is the same one the class has followed for three months, the information is still provided to give Billy predictability. Billy is given options as to what to do in the event that he gets overwhelmed on the playground. Instead of feeling powerless or helpless (and acting out), he is given ways to get resourced. This may be with a safe and emotionally connected adult on the playground, giving him a break to get some water and take some deep breaths, or choosing an activity that physically regulates his body, like swinging. Billy may need a smaller area in which to play. Sectioning off a small area of the playground to create more physical containment will decrease his overwhelm. This space can incrementally be enlarged once he feels safer. Once Billy is on the playground, an adult can help him slowly transition into play, interacting with Billy and helping him adjust to the change in the environment. Typically, once children hit the playground, they run and disperse like a heard of wild horses. This is too abrupt for Billy; if he is given more transitional time with an adult helping him get settled into an activity like jumping rope or riding on the merry-go-round, he has more chance for a positive experience. When ...

themselves for the afternoon. Field Trips.

It is very common for a child like Billy to become more disruptive the da...

The reality is that it is the field trip that has stirred up Billy’s anxiety.

implement the following strategies: Acknowledge the spectrum of feelings (excitement to fear) that may come up when discussing the field trip. This could be done on a whole-class basis or individually with Billy. Show pictures of the place the class will be visiting, with emphasis on “what you will see” and “what to expect.” The goal of this exercise is to decrease the unknown for Billy. Give a detailed schedule of how the day will unfold. Billy needs to know

what is going to happen “next.”

Suggest to the parent that Billy’s family visit the place where the field trip will be prior to the class trip.

Ask Billy’s parent to chaperone the field trip to give him an adult he trusts and who he can regulate off of during the experience.

If the parent is unable to attend, have an adult with whom Billy is familiar (such as the teacher) be his group leader.

Keep Billy in a smaller group of students so the adult-to-student ratio is low. Check in with Billy throughout the trip to help him stay regulated. Stay connected with him at an emotional level. Have a back-up plan in case all of the previously mentioned strategies are...

If Billy is showing an increased level of fear the day before, give him the option of either staying at school or going on the trip.

Many children actually choose to stay at school when it is not used as a punishment or threat.

Before and After School. One of the most stressful times in a student’s day can be before and/or after school.

The synergy of all the students together, emitting anxiety about the start of the school day combined with the stress of the social dynamics among them, is intense. Just ten minutes in this type of environment can exhaust Billy’s entire window of stress tolerance.

After-school containment areas can also be distressing for Billy.

Drive Billy to School.

The ideal solution would be for Billy to completely